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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25648375">The Owl's Nest Strangest Customer</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wing_dingding/pseuds/wing_dingding'>wing_dingding</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>BokuAka Week 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BokuAka Week 2020, Bookstore AU, But I'm a day late whoops, I don't even know what to tag this as, M/M, Pro Volleyball Player Bokuto Koutarou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:34:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,301</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25648375</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wing_dingding/pseuds/wing_dingding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"All of the good aside, even though Akaashi knew what Bokuto did, he had no idea what the reason or order behind it was. It was a poem with no meaning or rhyming scheme that he had to analyze, but the poem was only given to study every other day and had a sheet of parchment paper over it, loudly crumpling as he tried to move it to see the strange words."<br/>Akaashi has been getting a strange customer at his bookstore and can't help his want to find out exactly who they are.<br/>BokuAka Week 2020/Bookstore AU with some pro volleyball Bokuto</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>BokuAka Week 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859392</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Owl's Nest Strangest Customer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Okay, this is a day late and I cannot promise I'll be able to get any or all works out on time because I'm absolutely horrible at this, but I'm gonna try so bear with me here. Anyways, I wrote this all at midnight and then edited it the next day at 1:30 am so it should be of the highest quality. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Once Akaashi had graduated high school, some of the most dull and meaningless years of his life, he had begun his horrible journey into law, a profession he didn’t desire nor had any type of interest in. He had finished university, a regrettable, lonely period in time, and then enrolled into law school. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a long battle with his parents that lasted for a year and a half and ended with the smash of a plate, the slam of the door, and silence for three months, Akaashi had finally dropped out of law school. It was a jarring experience as he managed to do something he hadn’t even thought of since elementary school when he was asked what he wanted to do, just to have his mother jump in with, “He wants to be just like his father!” and suddenly, a path was created before he even realized what he was getting himself into.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Keiji had spent six months deciding what he was going to do, mulling over his interests and even letting his mind wander to pursuing law again. He called many friends, until one of them finally gave the winning advice:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just think of the times you were happiest and find a way to make money from that, that’s what I did,” Kenma had answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaashi had sat on his bed, eyes closed, and just letting himself remember. He was happy at the small family-owned restaurant by his old childhood home, the one that made excellent curries, but he had no passion for cooking. He only knew enough to be able to eat in the morning and at night, a simple meal with all basic nutrients and subpar flavor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had fun playing sports, sometimes, but he wasn’t genuinely happy. It also had to be way too late to go into professional sports considering Keiji had done volleyball for middle school and one year of high school before dropping it to focus on good grades for law. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A time when he was happiest. When he thinks of his fondest memories he thinks food, sports, and-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The answer hit him. Books. He had spent hours in the libraries and bookstores, hunched over different types of books, non-fiction, sci-fi, graphic novels, even romance, at one point. He had dabbled in writing, too, but he quickly realized that it wasn’t what he wanted. He just wanted to be near books, surrounded by his escape from the pressures of school. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaashi grabbed his phone and quickly found Kenma’s contact before putting the phone to his ear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Kenma answered as soon as possible, voice raspy, probably from no sleep and the overuse of it during his streams.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Kenma. Do you happen to know of any open buildings? Maybe in a strip mall?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And from then on, Akaashi was the owner of Owl’s Nest, his very own bookstore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Being observant was something Akaashi was well-known for, and for good reason, too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had memorized the tastes of his most common customers, easily helping in recommending good books and keeping up the steady flow of people. He knew the right people to give discounts to, high school graduates who just needed three expensive textbooks for college, working parents who wanted to make sure their kids would stay occupied with a good storybook, etc.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But, he’s starting to think that he wasn’t as observant as he previously thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, hey, hey! Do you think you could show me where the graphic novels are?” Bokuto asked after loudly announcing his presence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bokuto-san, welcome back. I remember showing you to them the day before yesterday and the week before, but I suppose you somehow manage to get lost in bookstores?” Akaashi replied, raising an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bokuto was quiet for a moment before simply giving a nod, which was enough of an answer. Akaashi walked around the counter and led the taller man to the shelf to the far right, close to the back of the store where a couple of chairs and tables sat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, wow! Thanks, Akaashi!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bokuto was a very odd customer. He came in at least twice a week, usually with a mask covering his face, but his eyes were expressive enough. The man would swing the door open, give a loud, “Hey, hey, hey!”, then rush to the counter to ask Akaashi where to find out where either graphic novels or adventure books were, despite asking for them every single time he entered the store. Akaashi would act exasperated, help Bokuto, and then watch as the man thumbed through pages for an hour, obviously not reading anything, buy the book while making a one-sided conversation, and leave, promising to come again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s happened so often that Akaashi gets scared when several days pass with no sign of the spikey haired, loud man, ready to flip through any book and buy it, no matter what. He’s brought an energy Keiji could say he’s been needing in his life since he made what arguably had to be the worst mistake one could make. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of the good aside, even though Akaashi knew what Bokuto did, he had no idea what the reason or order behind it was. It was a poem with no meaning or rhyming scheme that he had to analyze, but the poem was only given to study every other day and had a sheet of parchment paper over it, loudly crumpling as he tried to move it to see the strange words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bokuto came back, this time with more than one book in hand, which was very new.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Two books? You must be eager,” He commented as he scanned them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am! But one of them is for my friend, I told him about how cool this place is and he wanted to get a book too. He might even come around some time soon,” Bokuto said as he handed Keiji 4,000 yen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaashi took the amount and quickly fished out the change, double checking the amount before handing it off. He remembered when he had asked Bokuto very early on in his visits why he always bought everything in yen rather than using a credit card. The reply was so weird that Keiji remembered it at least once a week.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh, uh, I don’t have a card?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t pressed for details at the time since he wasn’t sure if he could ask something like that without Bokuto getting mad that a bookstore owner had decided to interrogate him about method of payment but, now that Bokuto had built his reputation for literally every emotion but anger, especially towards Akaashi, he decided to ask again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bokuto-san, why don’t you use a credit card? You always pay in yen,” He said, trying to appear casual as he stuffed both the books into a bag.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I…” He seemed lost for a minute before snapping his fingers and proudly saying, “I lost it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So he was just going to lie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you lose it recently? You seem pretty excited right now,” Akaashi said as he handed the bag off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, I think?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This had to be one of the worst lies Akaashi had heard and, while Bokuto was obviously trying to withhold information, he was pretty amused by it all. He attempted to put away the smile on his face, not making eye contact as he handed the bag off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have a nice evening, Bokuto-san, enjoy the book,” Akaashi called out as the man excitedly exited the store, holding the door open for the next person.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Akaashi-san, I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> sorry! I was on the way here and this man bumped into me and I accidentally screamed and he started getting mad at me so this other guy started yelling at that guy for getting mad at me and I felt bad about walking away since-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yachi-kun, it’s all good. You’re only a couple minutes late,” Akaashi interrupted, stopping whatever ramble that was before Yachi started to spiral off of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She bowed deeply, which was unneeded, but Akaashi didn’t really know how to stop her from doing half the things she did. She quickly walked around the counter and into the back room, returning with her badge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, do you think you can put some of the books back? Some kids came in an hour ago and misplaced a couple,” Akaashi said as he pulled a large box out from behind him and started to cut through the tape, revealing new YA books.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked around the shop and decided to place them on the table in front of the entrance to the shop and across from his counter, just enough table space to fit the contents of the box.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tried to strain himself to think of the possible reasons for Bokuto's strange behaviour. He paid with no card, wore a mask, and didn’t give a first name, which could mean he was a celebrity of some sort, but wouldn’t celebrities act quieter instead of just making the store aware of their presence? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yachi-kun, have you ever had a customer named Bokuto come in while I was out or busy? Black and white hair, face mask?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yachi popped out from behind a shelf and thought for a moment.</span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I’ve seen a guy with black and white hair and a guy with orange hair come in, but they just picked up some sport magazine and a DVD before leaving,” She replied before jumping, as if she had been possessed by a ghost, “I didn’t think much of it, is the guy a criminal? A thief? A murderer? Oh my god, is he collecting our books to make his own store, a competitor?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think he’s done any sort of illegal business,” That would explain some of his behaviours, but it couldn’t be possible, “he just comes in often. Did you say someone was with him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yachi nodded, “Yeah, a guy a bit shorter than him. Well, not a bit, I just don’t want to be mean about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was… different. Before Akaashi had the chance to continue to dwell on Bokuto’s strange actions, a family had entered the store. He could think about it all later, it wasn’t like Bokuto was going to go anywhere.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Bokuto hadn’t shown up in two weeks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t the fact that it was a bit strange, because the guy probably had a life outside of a bookstore, but it was that Akaashi was now trained to instantly sit up when someone opened the door and called, “Hey!” which was a very common thing, considering he had many people come in and announce that specific greeting. He hadn’t realized that until Bokuto stopped showing up, leaving Keiji to just act like Pavlov’s dog.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was it weird for Akaashi to be worried? Is Bokuto the type of person to get injured or lost?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Akaashi-san, are you going to be watching the game tonight?” Ennoshita asked as he filled the empty displays with new bestsellers and award winning books.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t watched volleyball in years,” He hadn’t even thought of volleyball in more than a year, “Is it supposed to be good?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ennoshita shrugged and said, “It’s EJP Raijin vs. the Black Jackals, both are really good teams. I think that some of them used to play together in high school.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t like Akaashi was going to do anything other than wonder where Bokuto was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll probably watch it when I get home, when does it start?” He asked.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>And that was how Akaashi was now sitting in his apartment, a plate of onigiri he picked up on the way in front of him on his coffee table, and the sports channel on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite Akaashi having played the sport before, he had stopped to focus on his studies and ended up losing interest. He had attempted to play again and even tried watching, but nothing really clicked like it used to anymore, so he concluded that sports was just a phase for him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Keiji was zoned out until he heard a familiar name being shouted from the TV.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bokuto Koutarou!” Was shouted as Bokuto, the Bokuto who goes to Akaashi’s bookstore, the one who asks for the same books, the one who apparently came in with that short orange haired man on screen, excitedly dashed across the court, doing finger guns as the crowd screamed in delight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was this man even real? Maybe Akaashi was in a coma or something, he couldn’t even begin to wrap his mind around what was happening before him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaashi started to eat his onigiri, focusing all his attention on it instead of whatever was going on on his TV because that couldn’t be real. The rice was a bit too hard, but it was alright, the overall flavor was there, which was enough to have him grabbing for the next one, a similar texture issue present. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time he looked up, the game had already started. A man with curly black hair served and, as it went over the net and just in front of the in line, one of the players yelped, a blond man, as Bokuto and the orange haired man went to high five the player who made a service ace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The game went on, this time the serve was received with the black haired man giving a look of disgust to the libero as the ball moved on, a good set and spike, just to be blocked. The ball began to fall but was saved quickly, a dive that looked so easy but Akaashi was sure he could never do that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the ball was set by the blond man, two people jumped up, number twenty one and number twelve, both getting impressively high and radiating power, but for some reason Bokuto just seemed different. Everything about him drew Akaashi’s eyes, like a moth to a lamp. The thought that he was a star crossed his mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Bokuto slammed the ball down, he landed with a cheer and high fived the other spiker. When his spike or serve landed out or was received, he would let out a little jeer before moving on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Keiji didn’t know what he was expecting Bokuto to do, but this was certainly fitting. Out of every sport, he would never guess volleyball and he had no idea why.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was no surprise when the MSBY Black Jackals won, the first and third set going to them.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The next day, Akaashi had come up with the reasons for the strange behaviour but was surprised when he couldn’t calm himself down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bokuto’s first name is Koutarou, he wears a mask because he’s so popular, he pays in cash for the same reason but couldn’t find a reason because he never sat down and thought of one, he didn’t come to the store because he needed to practice and prepare for his upcoming games.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite knowing all this, Akaashi still wanted Bokuto back. He wanted the star to enter the store and to yell his usual-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey hey hey!” Someone said as they opened the door, before fully walking in and then saying, “Akaashi, hey! It’s been a while!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Bokuto-san. Congrats on winning the game yesterday, I was very impressed,” Akaashi said, trying to control every bit of excitement and relief he felt at the sight of the other man.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you! My friend Tsum Tsum said I wouldn’t get the last spike because I took his water bottle by accident during practice but I guess he lied,” Bokuto replied casually before his eyes went wide and he pulled down his mask. “You saw my game?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaashi didn’t know if Bokuto was aware of his hair and his build, but maybe someone should have told him that he makes no move to hide his most recognizable features.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I watched the game last night. I didn’t think you’d be a volleyball player, but it suits you very well,” Akaashi commented as he fiddled with his fingers under the counter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, thank you! I get that a lot,” Bokuto puffed his chest out before continuing, “You won’t tell anyone, right? I sort’ve got a lot of media attention right now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaashi wasn’t one to keep up with news, but the thought of Bokuto doing anything to be in the media’s eye didn’t seem ideal. It could’ve been something good, like charity, but wouldn’t someone want to be interviewed for that sort of thing?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did you do?” Keiji asked, trying to keep his casual tone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uh,” Bokuto looked down before quietly muttering, “um, people think I kissed my best friend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was not what Akaashi was expecting at all, but that seemed to be happening a lot lately. Maybe the universe knew that Akaashi was at his bookstore, mostly happy, and decided to pluck a star right out of the sky and place it in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m confused, why do they think you kissed anyone?” Akaashi asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ennoshita peeking his head out from behind the dictionaries and school books, obviously listening in on the conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re both really close and he offered me a bite of his crepe, but when I went in he also took a bite from the other side so we could do that one scene from the Lady and the Tramp, but someone took a picture and it didn’t look so good from behind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everytime Keiji learns something new about Bokuto, he can’t help but wonder, ‘Why didn’t I think of this earlier?’ because it seems to be the most in character thing for the man to do. Be a volleyball star, be in the news for “kissing his best friend” while actually eating a crepe, what’s next? He was coming to the bookstore everyday because he was collecting books to make a book fort to defeat enemy forces?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, okay then,” Akaashi said because what else could he do?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I came in today because I wanted to tell you something! And please don’t make fun of me,” Bokuto said, putting both his hands out in either surrender or to tell Akaashi to wait. Keiji couldn’t tell with this man anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, go ahead,” He responded, his eyebrows creasing a bit in concern when Bokuto took a deep breath and then jumped a bit in place, looking more like he was going to throw a punch rather than tell someone a secret.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, I really, really like you! I came here because I saw you putting a poster up through the window and you looked really pretty so I’ve been coming so that I can talk to you and you’re so cool, Akaashi! You’re really nice and funny and you’re so smart, so I wanted to ask you to go out with me,” Bokuto confessed in one breath, but kept his eye contact, gold eyes never losing their intensity. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaashi felt his stomach flutter and he realized that, yes, he also liked  Bokuto, it explained so much. He calmed himself down and, with a small smile, replied, “I like you, too, Bokuto-san.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, it’s okay that you-” For the second time that day, Bokuto’s eyes widened. “Really, ‘Kaashi? Really, really?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaashi giggled a bit and nodded as Bokuto raised both his arms up in victory before charging at Keiji around the counter and hugging him, practically lifting him up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m so excited! Thank you, I promise I’ll take you on the bestest date you’ve ever been on!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t doubt that, Bokuto-san.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And when Bokuto walked Akaashi down the street, arms looped together, and opened the door to Onigiri Miya, Akaashi already knew that Bokuto very much kept his promise.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you guys like this, please leave a comment and tell me anything, I'll probably reply to it all. I won't be able to update everything on time, considering BokuAka Week just so happens to be a week before my school starts (It ends the day before and everything) and I'm currently doing a lot of extra programs but I hope I'll be able to do more.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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